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Rider Down

A little over 3 weeks ago I was involved in a rather bad accident. I was merging off from an arterial road onto our main national highway here in Cape Town and there was a step in the road (new tar [or asphalt as some would call it] on top of old tar with no warnings signs indicating that there is a step and that the road was left partially finished. My front wheel slid off the new tar on the old and I was still busy turning somewhat, leaning into the direction of the higher new tar. This situation, unfortunately, left me with one choice, and that was to try and climb the front wheel onto the new tar in order to avoid crashing into a barrier. Unfortunately my front wheel just slid against the new tar, the same way it would had I banked into a curb stone. The fall was inevitable and I went down at about 110KM/H.

I ended up barrel rolling shoulder over shoulder until I came to a stop on the left hand side of the road. Luckily there were no other vehicles around me at the time as they could have also impacted me and made matters worse. Some folk saw me lying on the side of the road and stopped to help. They called an ambulance and I was rushed off to hospital. Unfortunately I broke both my shoulders as bad as they could possibly be broken. My left shoulder has 3 breaks and also some crushing of the bone. My right shoulder has 4 breaks, crushing of the bone, and it was badly dislocated. I also broke 3 ribs on my left hand side. I was in hospital for almost a week. Both my shoulders were operated on and now have more titanium in them than a T1000 Terminator. Fortunately the only other injuries were a few roasties from the tar, nothing serious. My gear made sure of that. My custom leather jacket seriously did its job, although it had to be cut off me at the hospital. My helmet took a few heavy blows and is now useless. It also did its job I might add. My gloves saved my hands from being totally mangled. They were also a brand new pair I bought a few weeks prior. My guardian angel was on my shoulder for sure.

Anyways, I am back at home and busy recovering, albeit there is not much more that I can do for myself yet other than type a little here and there so I am pretty much out of action for at least 8 weeks. Then I have tons of physio to look forward to in order to regain the use of my arms which I may or may not fully regain functionality of but I am going to give it my best shot.

On to my ride....Here is where I just wanna cry. It's got quite a bit of damage and I have a friend busy looking for parts in order to try help and fix it. It turns out South Africa is not the best when looking for parts for the 9 so I expect my bike to be out of action much longer than I am going to be. What a bummer as I am going to miss the entire riding season.

Other than the above, I am really glad to be alive as this accident could have tuned out to be much worse. I am still with my wife and kids and that is all that really matters to me all things considered.

I thought I would share the above with you all in the hopes that my experience raises a little bit of awareness when it comes to properly inspecting the road surface ahead. I am a very experienced rider and this was the dumbest accident I have ever heard of and it happened to me. It goes to show that no matter how experienced you might be, anything can happen that can end up being a life changer for the worse. Please be careful our there guys and gals. The proverbial .... happens to the best of us.

Lastly, I attach a few pics of my experience. The first pic shows a bit but not all of the damage that my bike sustained. The second pic clearly shows the step in the road that ultimately caused me to go down.

I’m sorry to hear about your injuries Bro. It a blessing that you’re still here with us. I hope you have a swift and full recovery, and that your bike will be restored much sooner than you expect. Looking at those pics you posted, that was a gnarly step up in that road from the old to new tar. Navigating a step up in the road when riding parallel to it is one of the most unnerving riding experiences I’ve ever had. I despise that feeling.

Years ago, I used to buy the monthly magazine called “CYCLE WORLD” and in there would always be an article on safe riding tips. I remember having read an article on how to navigate a step up in the road. The instructions were to first move to the outer portion of your lane, slow the speed of the bike considerably, and navigate the step up at a 45 to 55 degree angle. Changing the angle at which the front tire impacts the step up will prevent the sidewall of the front tire from being parched against the step up, thereby aiding the rider in maintaining control.

As BCS stated, post up a list of the parts you need, and hopefully some of our members can help you obtain the parts you need. I will certainly help if I have anything you may need.

Sorry to hear about your accident. But as you and others have said, the important thing is that you are still here to tell the story. We will be praying for a speedy recovery to get you back in working order. As for the bike, that will all come together in time. God Bless.

Around here, roads are like that all the time. In Minnesota, there are two seasons, winter and construction. When it's construction season they are working on so many roads so much of the time it's unreal! They do a pretty good job of marking construction areas where you might come across this and often will have a sign showing uneven pavement, but not always.

Man your story is heart felt. I?m sorry to hear that. Damn for all of the good times we hear about on this website we are all humbled and brought back to earth with stories such as yours. We have to cherish our luck that we have had over the years (riding and not riding) because life, health, and luck is not guaranteed

That was difficult to read, because I could almost feel your pain. I have encountered the same situation many times, but was lucky enough to be at an angle that allowed my front tire to climb the tar bank. However, not long ago I hit uneven pavement with the motor home and the front tire slid along the shoulder for a few feet. If I'd been on the bike, I might have gone down. Best of luck and hopefully you and your bike will have a full recovery.

Sorry to hear this. Good luck with ur recovery and PT. here's hoping u have full movement again soon.
a few posted about how scarey uneven road surfaces are, and how to properly navigate them. All true and good gouge, but it sounds like u didn't even see it until u felt it. Tough to see everything while riding for sure. I too butt pucker when I come across these things...especially in the rain.
Good point that even very experienced riders go down for "stupid" things occasionally. Almost a year ago I went down as I was hit from behind doing about the same speed. Who woulda thunk it?!
Good luck my brother.
Troy

Forgot to mention...
Awesome how ur 9 brothers are willing o help ur bike recover.
I haven't got much parts around, but I will donate the tank emblems if u need them. When u r ready, shoot me a pm with ur addy and I will mail them out.
Troy

But seriously. that is a testament to the value of good riding gear. Around here, it's nothing but HD, all the time, and those guys literally wouldn't wear a helmet to save their life. If you weren't wearing gear, you would be hamburger now. Glad you are not.

Many thanks for all the well wishes etc. I feel truly blessed by the generosity and kindness of you all. It's not often that one comes across such a nice bunch of people in one forum and to be part of this brotherhood leaves me extremely appreciative and forever humbled. I promise to chime in from time to time although it is a bit difficult as typing still puts a strain on my shoulders. I was in extreme pain after typing my original post but I pushed through. My bike is currently at a friends workshop. It was transported there on a trailer directly after the accident as it was the closest secure place to store it temporarily. I unfortunately only have a few pics of the bike for now and seeing as it is not at home in my man cave I have not been able to fully assess the damage and determine exactly what is required to get it back on the road. A friend of mine is busy looking for the most crucial part required, the stator cover, but no luck as yet. I should have it back with me over the weekend and I will make a list of the parts that I am unable to source locally.

Once again many many thanks for all the kind words and offers of generosity. God bless you all

Many thanks for all the well wishes etc. I feel truly blessed by the generosity and kindness of you all. It's not often that one comes across such a nice bunch of people in one forum and to be part of this brotherhood leaves me extremely appreciative and forever humbled. I promise to chime in from time to time although it is a bit difficult as typing still puts a strain on my shoulders. I was in extreme pain after typing my original post but I pushed through. My bike is currently at a friends workshop. It was transported there on a trailer directly after the accident as it was the closest secure place to store it temporarily. I unfortunately only have a few pics of the bike for now and seeing as it is not at home in my man cave I have not been able to fully assess the damage and determine exactly what is required to get it back on the road. A friend of mine is busy looking for the most crucial part required, the stator cover, but no luck as yet. I should have it back with me over the weekend and I will make a list of the parts that I am unable to source locally.

Once again many many thanks for all the kind words and offers of generosity. God bless you all

Paul

👍👍👍...Please let us know what you need help with Paul. I can already see the outpouring of support coming your way.

I am still in awe of the generosity that all of you have shown me in assisting in getting my bike back into shape again. I will post a list of the parts I require below, but first an update on my physical well-being and how I have progressed over the last week etc.

The good news is that I am felling better each day. Little by little I am regaining the use of my arms and I hope to be in good shape soon so that I can enjoy the Christmas holidays with my family. I have progressed to not wearing my arm slings anymore and that has really helped me in being able to regain some muscle control that would otherwise be extremely stiff right now due to the reduced mobility that the slings reduce your arms to. All the wounds from my operation have healed exceptionally well and although I will be left with two 150mm scars on both arms, I accept them as a reminder of what could have happened. Right now, I am relatively independent to a point whereby I can help myself during the day and don't need much assistance in order to do normal every-day tasks. Once again, many thanks for all the warm hearted get well soon wishes. Myself and my family really appreciate it.

As mentioned in my previous post, friends of mine managed to get my bike back to me and it is now safely standing in my man cave. As promised, I have done a full inspection of the damage of the bike and luckily there is absolutely no damage to the right side of the bike except for a now missing bar end weight. Other than that, I have managed to locate a rudimentary drawing of the left side of the bike which ended up taking all of the damage. With reference to the drawing attached, I require the following parts in order to return my bike into a state of its former glory. I will be forever grateful for any assistance. God bless you all.

Oops, I forgot to mention, and thanks for the reminder, my bike is a 2006 model. My business address is the easiest to use for shipping. In South Africa, DHL and Fedex are probably the best couriers to use seeing as they also operate in most other countries as well. My business address is as follows: